Beer Guide 2013: Age 'n' Wisdom

Should you age that beer?

Portland is a beer town
surrounded by wine country. That, as much as anything, gives us reason
to take suds seriously. And nothing says “sophisticated” like a
cellar stocked with rare vintages. Yes, you can and should age beer. No,
we don’t mean that 30-pack of Natural Ice that’s been in your garage
for eight months. Give that to your 19-year-old brother and read on.

Why Age Beer? Just
like wine, an aged beer will mellow, mature and gain complexity of
flavor. The hot booziness of high-alcohol beers will decrease, and any
harsh flavors will mellow, making them more drinkable. Sour beers will
become increasingly sour, and bold flavors will meld for better balance.

“I’ve found that most beers tend to peak between one and
three years,” says Brendan Ford-Sala, bottle-shop manager at Belmont
Station. “After that, you’re going to start getting some oxidation,
which can be nice or off-putting depending on your preference. But
you’ll start to get those sherry-like notes that develop after year two.
With a sour beer, they’ll typically get a little more sour in the first
year, but then they’ll mellow out and some of the sharper edges on the
sour flavors will drop out of it and you’ll get a more balanced beer.”

What to AgeMost beershave
between 4 and 8 percent alcohol and a shelf life of three to six
months. The beers most people drink regularly, standard IPAs and lagers,
are best at their freshest. Anything especially hoppy or aromatic will
not benefit from aging because all of its desirable qualities will fade.
The higher the alcohol content, the longer the shelf life, which is why
barleywines (which range from 9 to 15 percent alcohol by volume) age so
well. Imperial stouts and porters can benefit from aging, along with
most sour beers like lambics.

“Style-wise
I think the best things to age are sour beers,” says Jim Bonomo,
manager and beer buyer for The Beer Mongers. “I just had one of
Cascade’s Vlad the Imp Aler from 2008 that was tasting great. The
sourness had taken over, the booziness was gone and it had this great
funky character. But there is nothing wrong with aging other styles as
long as the alcohol is high enough.”

How to AgeStorage
conditions are crucial. You don’t just want to toss a bottle in the
back of the fridge for two years. Beers being aged should be kept away
from light and heat but should also not be as cold or dry as it is in
your fridge. The best spot would be a basement that maintains a
temperature between 50 and 55 degrees. Then, all you need is patience.

“You should try to put it in someone else’s basement, so it’s not tempting you all the time,” Bonomo says.